


Baby, it's cold outside

by Smileydubs15



Category: Actor RPF
Genre: But I love christmas, Chirstmas, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, i know its march, will they won't they
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23386357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smileydubs15/pseuds/Smileydubs15
Summary: Vera invites her next door neighbour to celebrate Christmas with her family at her mom's insistence.This is my first work on here, so hopefully you like. It was adapted from something else I had written long ago but I'm on a real big Sebastian kick right now.
Relationships: Sebastian Stan/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 8





	Baby, it's cold outside

Vera waited impatiently by the front door of her parents large, Philadelphia home. She checked her watch for what felt like the thousandth time. All around her, the home felt alive. The smells from their breakfast mixes with the smells of the roasting turkey. The giggling of her nieces and nephews overpowered the crackling of the fire, and the early morning sunshine bounced off the fresh snow, lighting up the sunny outdoors. 

Through the frosted glass, Vera saw the flash of a yellow taxi pull into their long driveway, and pulled open the heavy door, the cold air biting at her cheeks.

"Seb!" She said excitedly. Her friend turned and smiled at her, his dark hair falling over his blue eyes. 

"Vera." He said, setting his bag down and grabbed her in a tight hug. "Get back inside, you'll catch a chill out here." He added once her realized she wasn't wearing a jacket. 

"I'm fine." She said as he paid the driver. "I could have picked you up at the train station, you know."

"It's alright" He picked his back up from the snowy driveway. "Shall we?" 

Vera nodded, leading the way to the house. "I did warn you about my large family, right?" 

"Yes Vera, God it'd freezing, are you going to invite me in or not?" He asked, his breath visible from the cold. 

Vera pushed open the door, and the sounds of shrieking filled the air. Two of Vera's nephews came running into the foyer, overcome by curiosity. Max, the youngest of the two, at only three years old ran straight into Sebastian's leg, then took a step back to look up his tall frame.

"You alright there, bud?" He asked, crouching down to Max's level.

"What on earth are you running from?" Vera asked, knowing Max was fine, and had probably fallen way harder already.

"Uncle Jacks chasing us, he's a monster." Hunter, the six year old answered, his own reddish hair wet with sweat from running around. 

"Alright, off you go." Vera's mother said, shooing the two little guys away. "You must be Sebastian. I'm so glad you could join us, when Vera said you'd be away from your family, it about broke my heart."

"Thank you for having me, Mrs. Grady." He offered his hand to shake hers.

"Please, call me Ann." She grabbed him in a hug, "now, not everyone's here yet, just my kids and their families. Vera, dear, take Sebastian's bags while I introduce him around."

Vera smiled to herself as she watched her mother pull Sebastian into the living room and started introducing him to Vera's siblings.

She ran up the stairs and tossed Sebastian's bag into her old bedroom, then ran back down to find him. When she found him, her mother was introducing him to her brother Brandt and his soon to be husband Kyle. Vera noticed that Max was following Sebastian around like a little puppy dog as they went from sibling to sibling.

"Vera, we met your friend." Sarah, Vera's brother Danny's wife said. "You didn't say he was that cute." She added, bouncing her youngest child, Wyatt on her hip.

"Now, you promise you two aren't dating?" Maggie, the pregnant girl friend of Sam, another one of Vera's brothers, asked

"I promise, we aren't." She said, starting to blush. 

"Well, why the hell not?" Sarah asked, making Maggie giggle.

"He doesn't see me like that."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't let them tease you." Lin said from her spot on the couch. She had been reading to her daughter, Mia, who was the second youngest of Vera's nieces and nephews, but had overheard the conversation.

"I think I'm going to sit her with Lin, since it appears she's my favorite sister in law." Vera joked, sticking her tongue out at the other two who pretended to be offended. 

Vera plopped down next to Mia, Lin sitting on the other side. 

"Riley tells me that Sebastian's your neighbour." Lin said, not really asking, just making conversation. Vera nodded. She was well aware that her older sister, and family gossip, Olivia had not only shared every detail with her husband Ben, but also with all five of their brothers, who in turn would have shared with their partners.

"He's cute."

"Is he? I hadn't noticed." Vera lied, avoiding Lin's gaze and instead making faces at Mia. Mia just smiled, as one year olds do, her shiny black hair was tied into a single ponytail on the top of her head.

After finally making the rounds, Sebastian was brought back to the living room where Vera was sitting on the floor, braiding her niece Cara's hair, while her other niece, Hayley braided hers. 

"Overwhelmed yet?" She asked as he slumped down next to her. 

"Yeah, a little bit. You said you had a big family, but this isn't what I expected."

"And if you think this is crazy, wait until later when everyones here." 

"I'm frightened just thinking about it."

"Auntie Vera, Daddy says we can go skating now." He nephew Lucas said, flopping across Vera's lap. Vera ruffled his hair, and gave him a little boop on the nose. 

"Alright darling." 

Lucas jumped up and ran into the other room excitedly telling everyone that it was time to go skating.

"Do you know how to skate?" Vera asked, noticing the look on Sebastian's face.

"Not really."

"So, no?" This made him laugh, "Well have no fear, I'll teach you. I taught all six of my nieces and nephews that are able to skate. When the others are older I'll teach them too."

They went and got their warm clothes on, which for Vera meant pulling a pair of sweat pants over the festive tights she had been wearing. Sebastian, on the other hand was not at all prepared to go outside, but luckily for him, there were five closets full of mens clothing that they could rummage through for warm clothes. He looked funny bundled up in Brandt's sweater, with Danny's jacket over it and wearing a pair of Jack's sweat pants. Jack was the only one of Vera's brothers whose pants would fit Sebastian's muscular frame, but Jack was also taller then Sebastian, so they pooled around his ankles slightly. 

"Let's go." She said. Her nephews excitedly bounced as the went out the front door and followed the shovelled path towards the large backyard, where her father had made a large outdoor rink. They stopped at the little shed that had been put up that held all the skates, hockey sticks and anything else they might want to play with. 

Vera grabbed her skates off the shelf and then started to rummage through the bins for a pair that might fit Sebastian.

"Here, try these." She said, handing him a second pair to try on. The first were too big, but Vera had a feeling this pair would fit. "Where are your toes?" She asked Sebastian while she tied Lucas' skates.

"Right here." Sebastian pointed.

"Perfect." She helped Lucas out the door then sat next to Sebastian to put her own skates on. He watched as she worked, and tried to copy her, but Vera could see that he was struggling to get the laces tight enough. "Can I?" She asked. 

"Yes, please."

Vera patted her lap, and Sebastian put his leg up. She got to work tying his laces tight before doing her own

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Vera helped him stand up and offered her arm so he could steady himself. 

"Alright, so first things first. It's very important when you skate to bend your knees and to lean forward, but only slightly. Vera grabbed Sebastian's hands in her and lead him on to the ice, the sound of her blades sounded like the sizzling of bacon. 

He tensed up as soon as his feet hit the ice. "Stay loose, you'll fall if you stay this tense."

After a couple of laps around the rink, Vera let go of his hands, and turned so she wasn't skating backwards anymore. Sebastian still looked like Bambi on ice, but he was moving around on his own which made Vera proud. 

By the time they finished skating an hour later, Sebastian was much better. He could go a little faster, and was able to stop himself. 

They went back inside and the house was considerably quieter when the walked in. 

"Toss your wet clothes in the basket, and there are snacks in the kitchen." Vera's mother whispered. 

"Where'd everyone go?" Sebastian asked while they grabbed some of the vegetables that had been set out. 

"The really little kids are probably napping, the older kids are probably having quiet time, which means they'll fall asleep while watching a movie, and my siblings are either settling their kids or relaxing somewhere." Vera, out of habit, went up the stairs to her childhood bedroom, Sebastian followed her. 

"Is it alright to eat in here?" He asked, standing in the door way.

"Yeah its fine." Vera said as she flopped on her bed and took her shoes off. Sebastian walked in, looking around the bedroom, looking through her book shelf while Vera snacked on some carrots.

"Do you want to watch a movie, or something?" She asked, laying back. 

"I might read, if that's cool."

"Do what ever you want, I think I might take a nap before everyone gets here. Go on, make yourself comfy, the beds plenty big." She patted next to her. She decided to read until she was sleepy enough to fall asleep, and Sebastian got in the bed next to her.

A shriek in the hallway jolted Vera awake, her glasses pushed into her nose making it sore. She tried to roll over to check the clock, but Sebastian had fallen asleep, and was holding on to her tight around her waist. She grabbed the arm that was across her and checked the watch on his wrist. It was almost four and they had been asleep for two hours. She yawned sleepily before rolling over to face him. Her movements woke him up.

"Is it time to get up?" He asked, his voice groggy from the sleep.

"We probably should. People will be here in an hour." Sebastian nodded and stretched his arms out, his shoulder popping as a result.

Vera sat up and pulled her braid out of her long auburn hair while she wondered what she was going to wear. 

"Do you mind if I shower? I promise I'll be quick." Sebastian asked as he pulled a bunch of dark coloured clothing out of his bag.

"No, go right ahead. Let me just show you how the shower works, it's a bit wonky." She brought him into the ensuite bathroom, an advantage to having a large house. "Towels are in there, and there's a bunch of shampoo and stuff under the sink." She demonstrated how to work the shower then left to decide what she was going to wear. 

She decided on her favourite dark green dress. It had lacy sleeves and was made out of the softest fabric Vera's ever worn, she loved the way it fit her. 

She was searching through her bag when Sebastian came out of the bathroom. He was dressed very nice in a dark grey wool sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. 

"What are you looking for?" He asked. He was sitting on the bed putting on a very christmassy pair of socks, while watching Vera drop to the ground to check under the bed. 

"My nylons. I swear I had them."

"Are they like tights?

"Yes."

"I think I saw them in the bathroom, sitting on the hamper."

"Oh, right." She said with a chuckle. She went and grabbed them then came and sat next to Sebastian. 

"So, whose all coming tonight."

"Oh, you know, the usual."

"The usual? If I was home, the usual would be me, my mom and my stepdad. Your family's so big that your niece and nephews alone double my family."

Vera chuckled. "I did warn you." She could sense that he was nervous, so she grabbed his hand. "Don't worry, everyone's really nice."

"Don't worry about me, all be fine." He said with a forced smile. 

Vera became very aware of how close they were sitting to each other, and how he was looking at her, his gaze lingering on her lips.

"We should probably head down." She said softly, neither of them moving.

"We probably should." He said as he tilted his head in. Vera leaned in slightly until their noses brushed gently against each others. Their lips where millimetres from touching when one of the kids went running through the hallway outside the door, screaming as they went making Sebastian jump away from Vera. 

"People will be here soon." Vera said standing up and walking to the mirror, leaving Sebastian sitting on the bed. She looked at herself in the mirror making sure her makeup looked alright, but really using it to look at Sebastian. He had laid back on the bed, looking up at the roof.

"Ready?" She asked. He sighed and pulled himself up. Together they went down the stairs to where the party was just starting to get going.

Vera was having trouble catching her breath after what had just happened, and the fact that she had wanted it to happen. She had never really thought of Sebastian in that way before, except that was the lie she told herself. She always wondered if she could ever like her since they first day they met. He was exactly her type; sweet, caring, family oriented, everything she looked for in a guy.

As they walked down the stairs she fought the urge to take his hand. She wasn't sure if she was just getting caught up in the season, and didn't want to lead him on. 

"Do you want a drink? I want a drink." Vera said, feeling strangely shy around Sebastian now. 

"A drink would be nice."

"Cool, you stay here, I'll go get us some. What do you want? A beer?" He nodded, and she ran to the kitchen before he could offer to come with her. She just needed a minute to think. 

"What the hell was all that about, Ver?" Riley asked, following her in.

"Um, nothing. Everything's fine." She avoided eye contact with Riley while she mixed herself a drink.

Her twin brother watched her closely while she hovered around the drink station. "You really are the worst liar."

"I'm not lying about anything."

"You are. I can feel it." He grabbed her in a big bear hug. "You like him, don't you."

Vera groaned. "I don't know, maybe." She said into her brothers chest. He laughed, and it shook her.

"He likes you. It's super obvious. Lin said she could see it a mile away."

"Since when does Lin gossip?"

"Oh, all we do is gossip. Always about you." 

"What?" Vera smacked Riley's arm.

"I'm joking! But she notices things like that. And so do I. So, what's the story?"

Vera shrugged, she wasn't sure herself. 

"You brought him to Christmas. That means something." Riley passed Vera a beer.

"We almost kissed upstairs."

"Well, maybe instead of almost kissing the boy, you should kiss him and see how it feels." Riley winked, then left Vera in the kitchen. 

Vera grabbed her drink and Sebastian's beer, then took a deep breath to calm herself down before going to look for him. 

She went into the living room, which had gotten more full of people she had to navigate through. She finally spotted him sitting on a chair next to her grandpa. The two seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

"There she is, my Vera." Her grandpa gushed when she approached.

"Hey Gramps." She kissed him on the cheek before handing Sebastian his beer and settling in the chair next to her grandpa, facing Sebastian. 

"So what are you two talking about over here?" She asked, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"You." Sebastian said with a smile. 

"I was telling Sebastian about how sweet you are, coming to visit me every weekend when I lived in the city." Vera smiled, it appeared her grandfather was playing wingman for her. "You know, she's named after my mother. You don't hear the name Vera much these days." Her grandpa said, beaming at Vera. "And, she takes after my dear Rose. Looks just like she did at this age, except the red hair, of course. Gets that from her mother's side."

"You're a lucky man to have had such a beautiful wife." Sebastian said while looking at Vera, making her blush. 

"I certainly was." Her grandpa smiled happily, as if he was remembering a nice memory.

"Now if you'll excuse me, dinner smells ready and I want a turkey wing." Her grandpa hopped up and scurried to kitchen. 

A few hours later after all the food had been eaten and all the presents had been opened, Vera and her siblings were all sitting in the living room. The party was starting to die down and most of the older relatives had left, including her grandpa. A bunch of cousins were still around, sitting with Vera and he siblings, and some aunts and uncles where in the kitchen with her parents. 

They were all sitting, joking around and playing games they played when they were younger. Sebastian was sitting next to Vera, joining in on all the fun, his hand occasionally resting on Vera's knee, or touching her hand. He had really warmed up to her family and they all seemed to love him.

"Ver? Are you guys in or no?" Jack asked, pulling Vera out of her thought.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

"Phil's invited us over to keep partying, do you guys want to come?" Jack repeated, slower.

"Um, I don't know." She looked at Sebastian, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's fine with me." He said. 

"I guess we're in."

"Nice, I'll text him. You guys grab some booze." Jack said, looking at his phone. 

"Lets go get our jackets." Vera said to Sebastian. He finished the rest of his beer and followed her out of the living room and into the laundry room.

"What exactly are we going to?"

"This guy, Phil, lives down the street and its sort of a tradition that we go over there and have a party in his barn while the adults hang out over here, but I guess we're adults now to? If you don't want to come, it's totally fine."

"What goes on at these parties?"

"Drinking, beer pong, dancing. I totally get if that's not your scene."

"That sounds fun."

"Alright, if you're sure." She slipped her jacket on over her dress and grabbed her boots.

When they got to Phil's, some of her brothers were already there, and some people she knew from high school.

"Vera!" Phil said excitedly when he saw her. He came over and picked her up in a hug and spun her around. "Beer pong?" He asked, pointing at her and Sebastian, then at himself and some guy whose name Vera couldn't remember.

"Yeah." Vera grabbed Sebastian's hand and pulled him to the table, and quickly explained the rules they played with while Jack filled up the cups. 

Sebastian turned out being great at beer pong and they went undefeated for awhile. When they finally lost, Vera had a bit of a buzz going and wanted to dance.

"Can we dance?" She shouted at Sebastian. He smiled and nodded, the music too loud to properly hear each other. 

At first they just danced next to each other, then Sebastian got brave and held her hand. They swayed to the music, often singing along. 

Suddenly the songs started being slower. Vera got closer to Sebastian, pulling him so that their bodies were touching. She put one hand on his shoulder, and the other on his bicep. He grabbed her around the waist, and they slow danced until the music changed again to faster songs. 

"I want to go home." She said in his ear. They made their way over to Phil to thank him then went out to the winter night. 

It wasn't as cold as it had been earlier, or it wasn't bother Vera because of all the drinks she had drunk. They started on the long walk down the road, laughing a ton. 

"Give me a piggy back." Sebastian said, grabbing her shoulders, and leaning on her. 

"No, you're too heavy." She laughed, trying to run away from him. She broke free and took off running, with Sebastian right behind her. As they turned into her yard he caught up and tackled her in the snow. They wrestled for a few minutes before Vera pinned him down.

"Gotcha." She grabbed a handful of snow and threatened to rub it all over his face.

"No." He squirmed. 

"Only of you say that I'm that way more awesome then you." 

"Vera, you are way more awesome then me." 

"I know." She dropped the snow on the ground. While she was distracted Sebastian wrestled her over and pinned her in the snow. They laughed, but then stopped. There was a weird energy between them since that afternoon and she hoped that they look he was giving her was what she thought it was.

"You can, you know." She said.

"Can what?" He asked, looking confused.

"Kiss me. You look like you want to."

He smiled, and leaned down, brushing his nose against hers again, but time their lips connected. Vera wrapped her arms around him and they made out in the snow for a few minutes.

"Sebastian?" Vera said while he kissed her neck.

"Yeah."

"I'm cold." She said, starting to shiver. Her tights where soaked through.

"Sorry." He stood up and helped her. They kissed a few more times before they made it in the house.

It was quiet, so they did their best to not make too much noise as the went up the stairs, hardly able to keep their hands off each other. When they got to Vera's room, Sebastian pushed her against the door and kissed her so hard that he picked her up slightly. When he put he down she fumbled with the door knob and pushed the door open, then grabbed his belt to pull him in.

"Vera. I really like you." He said, not moving when she pulled.

"I really like you too." She said trying to reassure him.

"No, Vera. I really, really like you and I want this to go somewhere."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm going to sleep on the couch downstairs. Call me old fashion, but I want to take you on a date before we go to bed together."

She smiled at him. Deep down she knew this was a good idea. 

"Good night." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Good night."

The next morning when she woke up, Vera couldn't help but smile. She jumped out of bed and brushed her teeth, not checking to see how she looked. Then she practically ran down the stairs. 

She found Sebastian sitting in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee. He looked so cute in his pyjamas She kissed him before he could say anything. 

"You owe me ten bucks." She heard her mom say. She let go of Sebastian and turned to see her parents both standing there. Sebastian's face turned as red a Vera hair, and she bit her lip. 

Vera could tell things were different between the two of them, it felt right. They left her parents house later that day and got in her car, her mom hugging Sebastian, telling him that she hoped to see him again, and Vera really hoped that too. 

They talked the whole way home, telling each other every little thing about themselves, and laughing at everything.

When they finally got home they stood in the hallway between their apartments talking for another half hour. When Vera's stomach grumbled she realized she should probably go inside.

"I guess I'll see you later?" She said, hoping he'd kiss her again.

"Of course, I'll come get you in an hour?"

"For what?"

"Our date, silly."


End file.
